Bereavement Services

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:06 pm on 12 March 2019.

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Photo of Mark Isherwood Mark Isherwood Conservative 2:06, 12 March 2019

Diolch. Forty per cent of the 33,000 people who die in Wales each year die in the community, 55 per cent in hospital. Although bereavement support following a child's death in paediatric intensive care units is referred to in the current Welsh Government delivery plan for the critically ill, the plan does not make reference to the importance of bereavement care for families where an adult has died following critical care. A significant proportion of bereavement support is provided by our charitable hospices in Wales, with some 2,300 families supported in 2017-18, but it's understood that families whose loved one dies in the acute setting after receiving intensive and critical care are missing out on the bereavement care they need through lack of signposting or availability. It's certainly a concern that's been raised with me by the adult hospices in north Wales, which also tell me that the health board had not consulted them on their palliative care plan. So, how is the Welsh Government working with NHS Wales, ensuring that every family experiencing bereavement has access to appropriate bereavement support, regardless of the setting or circumstances of their loved one's death?